Radio Address by President Bush to the Nation

by via PRNewswire On Jul 28, 2007

WASHINGTON, July 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is the radio
address by President Bush to the nation:

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. This week I visited with troops at
Charleston Air Force Base. These fine men and women are serving courageously
to protect our country against dangerous enemies. The terrorist network that
struck America on September the 11th wants to strike our country again. To
stop them, our military, law enforcement, and intelligence professionals need
the best possible information about who the terrorists are, where they are,
and what they are planning.

One of the most important ways we can gather that information is by
monitoring terrorist communications. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance
Act -- also known as FISA -- provides a critical legal foundation that allows
our intelligence community to collect this information while protecting the
civil liberties of Americans. But this important law was written in 1978, and
it addressed the technologies of that era. This law is badly out of date --
and Congress must act to modernize it.

Today we face sophisticated terrorists who use disposable cell phones and
the Internet to communicate with each other, recruit operatives, and plan
attacks on our country. Technologies like these were not available when FISA
was passed nearly 30 years ago, and FISA has not kept up with new
technological developments. As a result, our Nation is hampered in its
ability to gain the vital intelligence we need to keep the American people
safe. In his testimony to Congress in May, Mike McConnell, the Director of
National Intelligence, put it this way: We are "significantly burdened in
capturing overseas communications of foreign terrorists planning to conduct
attacks inside the United States ."

To fix this problem, my Administration has proposed a bill that would
modernize the FISA statute. This legislation is the product of months of
discussion with members of both parties in the House and the Senate -- and it
includes four key reforms: First, it brings FISA up to date with the changes
in communications technology that have taken place over the past three
decades. Second, it seeks to restore FISA to its original focus on protecting
the privacy interests of people inside the United States , so we don't have to
obtain court orders to effectively collect foreign intelligence about foreign
targets located in foreign locations. Third, it allows the government to work
more efficiently with private-sector entities like communications providers,
whose help is essential. And fourth, it will streamline administrative
processes so our intelligence community can gather foreign intelligence more
quickly and more effectively, while protecting civil liberties.

Every day that Congress puts off these reforms increases the danger to our
Nation. Our intelligence community warns that under the current statute, we
are missing a significant amount of foreign intelligence that we should be
collecting to protect our country. Congress needs to act immediately to pass
this bill, so that our national security professionals can close intelligence
gaps and provide critical warning time for our country.

As the recent National Intelligence Estimate reported, America is in a
heightened threat environment. Reforming FISA will help our intelligence
professionals address those threats -- and they should not have to wait any
longer. Congress will soon be leaving for its August recess. I ask
Republicans and Democrats to work together to pass FISA modernization now,
before they leave town. Our national security depends on it.